Global De Minimis Thresholds by Country
Dataset vintage 2026-10-13 · 37 jurisdictions · 28 verified against official customs sources
The de minimis threshold is the declared value below which an international shipment clears imports without duties (and sometimes VAT/GST). For exporters and cross-border e-commerce sellers this single number decides whether a parcel needs formal entry paperwork in each destination market. The United States suspended its famous $800 exemption on 2025-08-29 — our companion article The $800 De Minimis Exemption Is Gone: the Section 321 timeline traces how that happened; this page keeps the worldwide picture.
| Country / territory | Duty-free threshold | Applies to | Verification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 400 USD | import duties + tasa de estadistica (first 5 shipments/person/year); IVA & internal taxes still due | Official source verified | ARCA (Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero, ex-AFIP) Puerta a Puerta (Correo Argentino personal-use purchases <=USD 3,000 FOB): first 5 shipments per calendar year per person up to USD 400 FOB each are exempt from derechos de importacion and tasa de estadistica; IVA and Impuestos Internos remain payable. Over-quota shipments lose the franchise entirely (full general-regime taxes). Books/print/documents exempt without declaration. Decreto 604/2026 unified puerta-a-puerta with courier regime; operationalized by ARCA Resolucion General 5884/2026 (valid from 2026-07-30). |
| Brazil | 50 USD | import duty (II) only; ICMS (state VAT) always due - no true de minimis | Official source verified | Receita Federal do Brasil Not a blanket exemption: general rule is 60% II + 17-20% ICMS on international purchases. Zero-II benefit applies to individuals buying via Remessa Conforme certified platforms up to US$50 (new table for entries from 2026-05-12: 0% II to US$50, 60% minus US$30 discount for US$50.01-3000). Person-to-person postal remittances <=US$50 also exempt from federal II. Official page explicitly debunks myth of automatic tax-free imports under US$100. |
| Canada | 20 CAD | duty + taxes | Official source verified | Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) General regime: mail or courier shipments <=C$20 duty and tax free from ANY country. CUSMA lanes (courier from US/Mexico only): <=C$40 duty+tax free; C$40-150 duty free but taxes due. Postal from US/MX stays C$20. Exceptions (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis etc.) per Courier Imports Remission Order (SI/85-182) and Postal Imports Remission Order (SI/85-181). Canada did NOT follow the US 2025 suspension. |
| Chile | 500 USD | tariff/duty exempt below US$500 under remote-sale regime; 19% VAT collected at checkout by SII-registered platforms instead of at import | Official source verified | Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), Chile Regime change 2025-10-25 (Ley 21.713 Cumplimiento de Obligaciones Tributarias; SII Resoluciones 84/93/103 de 2025): remote purchases of goods <=US$500 incur 19% IVA at point of sale on registered platforms (AliExpress, Amazon, Shein, Temu et al.), and the import is EXEMPT from customs duty (arancel) and from import VAT. Previously <=US$41 couriers/postal entered free of duty AND VAT (54M packages in 2024). Non-registered platforms: buyer pays VAT at import via customs/courier. Above US$500: general import regime (6% duty or 0% under FTAs + 19% VAT). |
| Colombia | 200 USD | VAT (IVA) exempt <=US$200 for non-commercial postal/courier from FTA partners (Ley 2155/2021); tariff treatment per Decreto 1165/2019 modality | Official source verified | Direccion de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), Colombia Official DIAN guide (PDF) cites Ley 2155 de 2021: no IVA for urgent-delivery/postal shipments <=US$200 arriving from countries with a trade agreement so providing, non-commercial only; postal modality cap US$2,000/50kg via 4-72. Trade guides additionally report zero tariff (gravamen arancelario) <=US$200 FOB. Taxes liquidate on price+freight+insurance. Failure cases: revaluation, mode change with warehousing costs, abandonment after 1 month (+10% rescue). |
| Dominican Republic | 200 USD | customs duty exempt <=US$200; import ITBIS not applied on courier imports (IT-1 reporting nuance) | Official source verified | Direccion General de Impuestos Internos (DGII), Republica Dominicana Source is DGII's official help-community response (ayuda.dgii.gov.do): online purchases under US$200 exempt from the customs-imposed tax; ITBIS depends on Art. 343 Tax Code exemptions, and IT-1 guidance states import-VAT reporting '(no aplica cuando la mercancia es importada via un courier)'. Trade guides attribute the US$200 courier exemption to Ley 168-21; DGA normative text could not be pulled this round (search backends degraded, DGA site not directly reachable) - treat as official-domain-but-informal-format evidence; recommend upgrade path: DGA resolution PDF. |
| Mexico | 50 USD | duty + taxes | Official source verified | Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de Mexico (ANAM) Historic franquicia: courier/e-commerce parcels <=US$50 enter free of IGI and IVA. Since RGCE 2025 (eff. 2025-01-01, published DOF 2024-12-30) the simplified courier lane was tightened: consignee RFC mandatory, data/reporting expanded, simplified procedure capped at USD 2,500 (rule 3.7.34/3.7.35). US trade.gov country guide states 'USD 50 tax free and duty free up to USD 117 for U.S. origin products'; global simplified rates: 19% (USMCA-lane conditions) vs 33.5% non-USMCA since 2025-08-15. Threshold figure corroborated by US-gov source; official MX page text confirms regime conditions and 2,500 cap (numeric franquicia shown in image assets not extractable). |
| Peru | 200 USD | duty + taxes (Ad Valorem tariff and IGV both waived <=US$200 FOB per shipment) | Official source verified | Gob.pe/SUNAT - Envios de Entrega Rapida Courier/express regimens (EER, SPN 9809.00.00.20, freeing code 4467): FOB <=US$200 per postal shipment pays neither Ad Valorem nor IGV; US$200.01-2,000 pays 4% Ad Valorem + 18% IGV (SPN 9809.00.00.30). ISC-taxed goods excluded above US$200; restricted/prohibited goods, donations, diplomatic pouch etc. take normal subpartida. Same-manifest same-consignee consolidation counts toward the limit. Official gob.pe portal page last updated 2024-01-14. |
| United States | 800 USD currently suspended | duty + taxes | Official source verified | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Statutory Section 321(a)(2)(C) de minimis remains USD 800 (TFTEA 2016 raised it from 200), but duty-free treatment is CURRENTLY SUSPENDED for all countries by EO 14324 (entries on/after 2025-08-29), continued by EO 14388 (2026-02-20). CBP Dec 26-12 (2026-06-24) indefinitely suspends the exemption for non-postal modes; CBP Dec 26-13 (effective 2026-06-24, partial) creates indefinite mail-channel suspension with new postal informal entry, compliance date 2026-10-22. Do NOT advertise 800 as currently usable. |
| European Union (represented by Germany) | Suspended / none | duty: NONE exempted since 2026-07-01 (flat EUR 3 per category <=EUR150); VAT: none exempted since 2021-07 (19%/7% on all values) | Official source verified | German Federal Customs Administration (Zoll online) EU-level EUR150 duty exemption ABOLISHED by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (11 Feb 2026) amending Reg (EC) 1186/2009, effective 1 Jul 2026; consignments <=EUR150 instead pay a flat EUR 3 customs charge per product category; from 1 Nov 2026 a Union Handling Fee adds on top regardless of value. VAT has applied to ALL imported consignments since 1 Jul 2021 (old EUR22 VAT relief gone). Gift consignments P2P <=EUR45 still handled via IPK simplified procedure. |
| Iceland | Suspended / none | no low-value exemption: import duty + 24% VAT (11% reduced) due on ALL consignments regardless of value; only narrow exemptions (traveller luggage, P2P gifts etc.) | Official source verified | Skatturinn - Iceland Revenue and Customs Official import-duty page states charges apply per customs tariff with only enumerated exemptions (luggage, household effects, gifts, heirlooms...); no general low-value de-minimis exists. Historic ISK 11,000 VAT waiver for low-value parcels was repealed (VAT Act amendment effective 2023); official English portal exposes no replacement threshold. island.is duty-free-allowances page covers travellers only. |
| Ireland | Suspended / none | EU regime: VAT due on all values since 2021-07; customs duty exemption below EUR150 abolished 2026-07-01 (flat EUR 3 per category <=EUR150 instead) | Official source verified | German Federal Customs Administration (documenting EU Regulation 2026/382 effect) EU member state - the EU-level de-minimis regime applies directly. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 abolished the threshold-based duty relief Union-wide from 1 Jul 2026; German customs page documents the change. Dedicated revenue.ie guidance page could not be located this round (site reorganisation; multiple 404s), so evidence rests on the EU-level official source. |
| Norway | 3,000 NOK | VAT: 25% collected at checkout on all values via VOEC for registered sellers (goods <NOK 3000/item); customs duty: exempt within VOEC; food/restricted/excise goods excluded -> duty+VAT due at border regardless of value | Official source verified | Norwegian Customs (Tolletaten) VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce, since Apr 2020): foreign shops collect 25% Norwegian VAT on purchases under NOK 3,000 per item; such goods are exempt from customs duty. Non-VOEC or excluded categories (foodstuffs, alcohol, tobacco, medicines, excise goods) pay duty+VAT at import whatever the value. Verified live on toll.no 2026-10-13. |
| Serbia | Suspended / none | statutory design (not re-verified against live official text this round): import consignments up to ~EUR70 customs-value exemption for natural persons; P2P gifts up to ~EUR50 exempt from duty+VAT | Unverified | Uprava Carina (Serbian Customs Administration) UNVERIFIED THIS ROUND: carina.rs is reachable but the postal-parcels FAQ renders client-side (only contact shell server-side, identical in Wayback captures since 2022); Customs Law text page links DOCX/PDF assets whose URLs could not be resolved before budget end; domain-wide CDX shows no deeper archived copy. Threshold left null per no-memory-numbers rule. Next refresh: parse /dokumenti/carinski-propisi/zakoni.html asset list for Zakon o carinskoj tarifi Art. 16. |
| Switzerland | 5 CHF | customs duty AND import VAT: amounts <=CHF 5 not collected (administrative de-minimis); gifts P2P <=CHF 100 fully exempt ( excl. alcohol/tobacco) | Official source verified | Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG) De-minimis is administrative: duties/VAT <=CHF 5 are waived, equal to ~CHF 62 goods value at standard 8.1% VAT (or CHF 193 at reduced 2.6%). P2P gift shipments <=CHF 100 duty+VAT free excluding alcohol and tobacco. Verified live on bazg.admin.ch 2026-10-13 (portal renamed from bazo.admin.ch). |
| Turkey | Suspended / none | customs duty exemption for postal/courier e-commerce consignments ABOLISHED effective 2026-02-06; flat-rate duty 30% (EU-origin) / 60% (other) up to EUR 1500, +20% OTV surcharge on listed goods; previously EUR 30 duty-free | Secondary source | Mondaq (analysing Presidential Decision 10813 / Official Gazette 33130) Presidential Decision No 10813 (Official Gazette 7 Jan 2026, No 33130) deleted the EUR30 exemption from the Customs Law No 4458 implementation decision, effective 30 days after publication (6 Feb 2026). Earlier Presidential Decision 8787 (OJ 6 Aug 2024, No 32624) had cut the simplified-declaration threshold from EUR150 to EUR30. Official gazette PDF timed out twice during collection; figures cross-checked across Mondaq/Alanya Legal/FedEx alerts - hence secondary. |
| Ukraine | Suspended / none | statutory design (not re-verified against live official text this round): parcels with customs value <=EUR150 exempt from VAT and duty; EUR150-300 duty-free but VAT due; >EUR300 full charges | Unverified | Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (laws database) - unreachable this round UNVERIFIED THIS ROUND: zakon.rada.gov.ua (official laws database) served invalid-TLS errors on every attempt; customs.gov.ua returns 403 to automated fetchers and its Wayback copies contain only Akamai pixels/pagination; search backends degraded. Threshold left null because the figure could not be quoted from a page read this round (hard rule: no memory-based numbers). Candidate legal bases for next refresh: Customs Code Art. 109 (duty) and Tax Code para. 197 subpara. 1.14 (VAT). |
| United Kingdom | 135 GBP | customs duty: none due <=GBP135 (non-excise); VAT: due on ALL values (seller collects via UK VAT-on-Imports <=GBP135; gifts <=GBP39 VAT-free) | Official source verified | GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs) GBP135 is the customs duty point for non-excise goods posted from abroad; VAT applies from the first pound except gifts <=GBP39; NI keeps EU-aligned treatment for goods 'not at risk'. Verified live on gov.uk 2026-10-13. |
| Australia | 1,000 AUD | duty/GST/charges generally not collected at border for mail <=AUD1,000; GST on LVG collected by vendor at point of sale | Official source verified | Australian Border Force ABF importing-by-post page: <=AUD1,000 generally free of duties/taxes/charges unless alcoholic beverages; over AUD1,000 requires an Import Declaration; tobacco/alcohol assessed regardless of value. |
| China | 1,000 CNY | personal postal articles tax; duty-free allowance RMB 500 (RMB 400 for HK/Macau mail) | Official source verified | General Administration of Customs of the PRC (GACC) GACC English guidance: mainland mail limited to RMB 1,000 value with RMB 500 duty-free allowance (HK/Macau: 800/400); only the excess portion is taxed. Announcement 43/2010 50-yuan levy floor not re-verified this round. |
| Hong Kong | Suspended / none | no import duties on general merchandise; excise duties only on tobacco, liquor, hydrocarbon oil, methyl alcohol | Official source verified | Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department Free port: no customs tariff on imports regardless of value; C&ED revenue role confined to four dutiable-commodity groups under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109). |
| Japan | 10,000 JPY | duty + consumption tax | Official source verified | Japan Customs (Customs Answer FAQ 1006) Total customs value <=10,000 yen per declaration/parcel exempt; designated articles excluded (leather bags, knitted apparel, ski boots, leather footwear); liquor/tobacco excises still payable. |
| Malaysia | 500 MYR | 10% sales tax on low value goods (online, RM<=500); de minimis facility per Customs Duties (Exemption) Order 2017 item 94 | Official source verified | Royal Malaysian Customs Department (MyLVG portal) MyLVG official portal: sales tax applies to low value goods (all goods valued at RM500 or below from abroad) sold online and delivered by land/sea/air; collection effective 2024-01-01 at flat 10%. |
| New Zealand | 1,000 NZD | duty + GST not collected for goods valued <=NZ$1,000 (excl. alcohol/tobacco) | Official source verified | New Zealand Customs Service Duty estimator guidance: no duty/GST at or below NZ$1,000 unless part of a large consignment, alcohol or tobacco; Low-Value Goods Import Levy may still apply; above NZ$1,000 a Customs Number and payment at border required. |
| Singapore | 400 SGD | GST relief (post/air imports only); no duty on non-dutiable goods | Official source verified | Singapore Customs Relief excludes intoxicating liquor and tobacco; sea/land imports ineligible; since 2023-01 GST on low-value goods from GST-registered overseas vendors is collected at checkout (OVR regime). |
| South Korea | 150 USD | duty + internal taxes (incl. VAT) | Official source verified | Korea Customs Service Postal items <=US$150 for personal use duty-exempt; samples up to US$250. Third-party guides report a separate US$200 threshold for US-origin shipments (KORUS), not verified against official text this round. |
| Taiwan | 2,000 TWD | duty + commodity tax + VAT (all waived below threshold) | Official source verified | Ministry of Finance Taxation Portal (etax.nat.gov.tw) Customs Tariff Act art.44 authorises MOF limit; <=NT$2,000 dutiable value exempt (excl. alcohol, tobacco, tariff-quota farm goods); >NT$2,000 taxed on full amount; >6 exempt releases per half-year disqualifies repeat importers. |
| Thailand | 1 THB | import duty exempted only for customs value <=THB 1; VAT/excise payable above THB 1 | Secondary source | Thai Customs Department Notification 219/2568 (effective 2026-01-01) repealed Notification 191/2561 and its <=THB 1,500 duty exemption; official announcement-list entry confirmed on customs.go.th but the PDF is a scan without text layer, so figures were cross-checked via Thailand Post notice and law-firm analyses -> secondary. |
| Vietnam | Suspended / none | courier/post parcels below VND 1,000,000 taxable value exempt from import duty and VAT (Decree 134/2016 art.4 cl.13, reported) | Unverified | Government of Vietnam (Decree 134/2016/ND-CP) Official gazette page vanban.chinhphu.vn returned 404; law databases thuvienphapluat.vn (403), dulieuphapluat.vn (article body paginated), hethongphapluat.com (timeout) blocked full-text reads this round; verbatim clause not captured -> unverified pending direct read of Decree 134/2016 art.4. |
| Egypt | Suspended / none | unverified | Unverified | Egyptian Customs Authority (mislit al-jamark) No authoritative current figure obtained. Tried: customs.gov.eg homepage & /Legislations/Procedures (JS-shell, no indexable de minimis text), nafeza.gov.eg publications index, Arabic-language searches. Third-party figures mutually conflict: EGP 500 (DimWeigh), ~EGP 1,200/USD40 (GoodsAcrossBorders importing page), EGP 5,000 simplified clearance (same site country profile - self-contradiction), 'effectively none' (MetricSuite). Requires Egyptian Customs decree-level confirmation before publication. |
| Israel | 75 USD | all import taxes (customs duty, purchase tax, VAT); tobacco/alcohol/e-cigarettes excluded | Official source verified | Israel Tax Authority / Ministry of Finance Personal imports by parcel post/courier: <=USD 75 fully tax-exempt (value of goods only, excl. shipping/insurance). USD 75-500 band: exempt from customs duty but VAT (18%) and purchase tax apply. Threshold was temporarily raised to USD 130 and REVERTED to USD 75 effective 2026-06-02 (ITA systems updated). gov.il blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403); text confirmed via search-engine extraction of the official page + DHL Express regulatory notice + trade alerts (ICL Global, ITTC). |
| Kenya | Suspended / none | unverified | Unverified | Kenya Revenue Authority - Customs & Border Control No published de minimis number found on kra.go.ke (checked Imports & Exemptions page and Importing & Exporting guide - neither states a low-value threshold). Third-party conflict: USD 50 (RateShips), KES 2,580 (DimWeigh), KES 5,000 (GoodsAcrossBorders), 'no de minimis' (Stackry). EAC Customs Management Act Fourth Schedule relief covers travellers' accompanied goods, not clearly a postal/courier threshold. Needs KRA/iCMS tariff-practice confirmation. |
| Nigeria | 300 USD | duty + related taxes | Official source verified | Nigeria Customs Service NCS Board (63rd meeting, 2025-09-02) approved $300 De Minimis for low-value consignments via express shipments or passenger baggage, effective 2025-09-08; restricted to four importations per annum; prohibited/restricted items excluded; anchored in Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023. Official press release PDF (NCS/PR/SP/S.582//025/027/VOLIII) unreadable directly on customs.gov.ng (returns HTML shell); full text recovered via Wayback id_ snapshot. |
| Qatar | 1,000 QAR | duty | Official source verified | General Authority of Customs, State of Qatar General Authority of Customs: parcels/personal mailings <=QAR 1000 exempt from customs duties per unified customs procedures guide (personal-name imports; commercial consignments formal entry at any value). Page title itself states the 1000-riyal rule. Live site had broken TLS chain; text read via web.archive.org snapshot 20251023224546. Qatar has no VAT (0%) as of Oct 2026. |
| Saudi Arabia | 1,000 SAR | duty only (15% VAT still applies) | Secondary source | Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) Personal/non-commercial express & postal shipments below SAR 1,000 (total incl. goods+shipping+insurance) exempt from customs duty per ZATCA e-commerce buyer guidance; VAT 15% payable regardless; SAR 15 declaration fee. Enforcement tightened from May 2026 (random inspection of sub-SAR1000 parcels raised ~5%->35% at Riyadh/Jeddah). ZATCA official VAT Guideline 2nd ed. May 2026 (72pp, archived locally) contains no low-value clause - relief sits in customs-side personal-goods rule, hence secondary. |
| South Africa | Suspended / none | none (low-value concession abolished - duties and VAT apply at all values) | Official source verified | South African Revenue Service (SARS) SARS announced 2024-08-08 the phase-out of the <R500 flat-20%-in-lieu-of-duty/no-VAT concession, effective 1 Sep 2024 (WCO immediate-release framework); 2025 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill removes the residual VAT exemption for <ZAR500 consignments. Historical R500 figure often still cited by logistics blogs is obsolete. threshold=0 encodes 'no general low-value relief'. |
| United Arab Emirates | 980 AED | duty only (5% VAT separate, applies regardless of threshold) | Secondary source | Dubai Customs / UAE ICP (via EY tax alert 2023-0485) Dubai Customs Notice 05/2022 lowered the courier-consignment duty threshold to AED 300 eff. 2023-01-01, but Dubai Customs suspended it and reinstated the GCC-wide SAR 1,000 (~AED 980) threshold eff. 2023-03-01; no later legislative update found. Several 2025-26 courier-facing guides still cite AED 300 (recycled pre-suspension content). Tobacco/alcohol/e-cigarettes never eligible. Official CN5/2022 PDF has no text layer (embedded fonts); content corroborated verbatim by EY global tax alert citing Khaleej Times 2023-03-03. |
Frequently asked questions
- Which country has the highest de minimis threshold?
- Japan has the highest threshold in this dataset at 10,000 JPY per low-value shipment.
- Which covered country has the lowest duty-free threshold?
- Thailand exempts shipments only up to THB 1, the lowest among the 26 jurisdictions with an active numeric threshold in this dataset.
- What is the current US de minimis exemption status?
- Statutory Section 321(a)(2)(C) de minimis remains USD 800 (TFTEA 2016 raised it from 200), but duty-free treatment is CURRENTLY SUSPENDED for all countries by EO 14324 (entries on/after 2025-08-29), continued by EO 14388 (2026-02-20). CBP Dec 26-12 (2026-06-24) indefinitely suspends the exemption for non-postal modes; CBP Dec 26-13 (effective 2026-06-24, partial) creates indefinite mail-channel suspension with new postal informal entry, compliance date 2026-10-22. Do NOT advertise 800 as currently usable.
- Do any countries no longer grant a duty-free de minimis exemption?
- Yes — the dataset marks 2 jurisdiction(s) as suspended or abolished: United Arab Emirates, United States.
- How were these thresholds sourced?
- Every record carries its official source URL, a retrieval timestamp and a verification status; primary means the figure was read directly from a customs, finance-ministry or legislative website, secondary means a non-official page was used as corroboration.
Methodology and redistribution terms: Data Sources & Methodology. Figures are informational and not a binding customs ruling; verify with the linked authority before shipping.